Schindler's List Movie Vs Book
Imagine: One day you wake up from a comfortable sleep, the light from your window is seeping in, the fresh aroma of coffee fills your nostrils. You stand up and begin to get ready for what the day has planned. As you are getting ready you hear bombs and gunshots being fired. You look out the window and see men shooting mercilessly at your family and neighbors. You grab all of your family and hide for hours, not knowing when you will be able to come out, but they still find you. They tell you to pack one bag and that you have to move. You obey their orders in fear for your life. They split up your family, and murder your friends, but all you can do is sit there and watch it happen and wait for your time to come. That was just a sugar coated version of what many innocent Jewish people went through during the
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Holocaust. Millions of innocent lives were taken for reasons they could not help.
Schindler's List, directed by Steven Spielberg, captured the true emotion and raw experiences during the Holocaust. Unlike many textbooks and movies, Spielberg was able to really help the audience understand the trauma many went through. The movie was created in the 90s, but it was purposely made in black and white so that the colorful symbols stand out more. Maus, written by Art Spiegelman, is a graphic novel that shows an up close and personal perspective on the life of a Jew during the Holocaust. Many people hear about all the things that Jewish people went through, but what makes Maus different is that you get to read about someone's perspective and what they went through every step of the way. Both Schindler's List and Maus are two completely different stories and are told totally differently, but they are extremely effective. Being able to watch the movie, it gives you a little perspective on what was really happening to everyone during this time. Reading Maus then allowed you to see the struggle that one person went through, which was similar to the struggle of millions of
others. Oskar Schindler was a Nazi who, at first, only cared about himself and money. As the story progressed he saw the way other Nazis were torturing the Jews and he knew it was not right. He wanted to save as many Jews as possible so he opened a factory and bought as many jews as he could afford so that they would not be sent to Auschwitz, where they would be killed. Schindler's List was very effective to show the true story of what millions of people went through. The movie was produced in the 90s, but was made in black and white. While this may not seem like a big deal, it helped the greatest symbols stick out, such as the red dress and candle flame. We first see one of the great symbols during the beginning of the movie. While Schindler is afar watching many Nazis shoot as Jews and chase the throughout the town, there is a little girl in a red coat walking around innocently, not at all reacting to all the chaos around her. Fast forward to the near end of the movie, the Nazi’s are making the Jews dig up all of the dead bodies and burn them and while Schindler is walking he spots the same girl in the same red coat dead, lying with other corpses. The reason that the girls coat was in color was so that the audience would remember her innocents and let her stand out from the rest. It was a little girl who has done no wrong in her life and she was killed anyway. At the end when the Jews were set free they went from being in black and white to being in color to represent new life.
Spielberg did an amazing job showing the comparison of what Jewish people went through versus the Nazis through juxtaposition. During one of the beginning scenes you see a wealthy family packing their bags and being moved to the ghetto. They walk into the new apartment which is small and dirty and the complete opposite of what they were previously living in. The family, trying to be optimistic says “It could be worse” (Spielberg). The scene switches to Schindler and he is walking into the wealthy family’s old apartment, which is now his. He walks around admiring the size and the amazing features and as he lays down in their bed he says “it couldn’t possibly be better” (Spielberg). Having two scene back to back like that really shows the audience perspective. They got to see what life was like as a Jew and as a Nazi at very similar, yet completely opposite moments.
Maus was written to allow people to see life during the Holocaust and after from one person’s perspective. It is unique because books usually focus on what happened to all the jews during the Holocaust, while Maus only focuses on what happened to Vladek. The different style of writing helps the audience see the Holocaust through someone’s eyes who actually experienced it. Being a graphic novel, the book was more appealing to a bigger audience and helped the reader follow along better. The characters were all represented as animals. The Jews were mice, the Nazi’s were cats, and the Polish people were pigs. Mice were used to symbolize how the Jews were sneaky and would hide from the Nazis. The cats were used to symbolize how the Nazi’s did not care for anyone other than themselves and they would hunt down the Jews. The book starts off during the 70s in Vladek’s apartment in New York. Art goes over to his house and has dinner with Vladek and his second wife, Mala. Art tells Vladek that he wants to hear his story and write a book about it. Vladek goes through all the details that happened to him during the 30s. Vladek told Art every detail from his love life to his struggle to live, but he told him he did not want him to include all of it in his book. “But this what I just told you — about Lucia and so — I don’t want you should write about this in your book … It has nothing to do with Hitler, with the Holocaust” (Spiegelman, 35). Art knew that even though it had no connection to the Holocaust, it would be a good pathos for the audience. Vladek talked about all the different places he was transferred to and all the people that he met. He tells Art about how his other committed suicide because all the trauma that she went through was just too much for her to handle. “Ever since Hitler I don’t like to throw out even a crumb” (Spiegelman, 68). The war made Valdek learn to never waste anything, even though that became a problem for him and Mala because she thought that he was just being annoying. He could not help it, coming from such a rough past he cannot change what he has been through and what he has seen. Even though Vladek had survived the war and is now living a comfortable life, the past still haunts him.“These notebooks, and other really nice things of mother … one time I had a very bad day … and all of these things I destroyed” (Spiegelman, 160). The difference between Maus and other books that discuss the Holocaust is that you get to see the story during and after the war. Just because the war ended does not mean that everyone went back to living normal and happy lives.
Both documents were made to show how tragic the Holocaust was and to show the trauma that millions had to go through. Even though they were both completely different stories and forms of media, they did an excellent job showing what happened without sugar coating it. While Schindler’s List was made to show the real struggle that the Jews went through, not just the Hollywood version, it did not really focus in on their individual lives. Maus was made so that people could read about a specific story. Maus was an amazing book because it made all the Jewish people look like actual people. It told Vladek's story before the war, during, and after. It helped show the audience that the Jews were all normal people with normal lives, who were just taken over. Both of these stories did an amazing job capturing the true experiences and emotions that everyone felt during this time. The different techniques that Spiegelberg and Spiegelman used really sucked in the audience to get an even better understanding. Everyone knows that the Holocaust was a bad time in history, but these two documents really show how horrible it really was.
Holocaust. Millions of innocent lives were taken for reasons they could not help.
Schindler's List, directed by Steven Spielberg, captured the true emotion and raw experiences during the Holocaust. Unlike many textbooks and movies, Spielberg was able to really help the audience understand the trauma many went through. The movie was created in the 90s, but it was purposely made in black and white so that the colorful symbols stand out more. Maus, written by Art Spiegelman, is a graphic novel that shows an up close and personal perspective on the life of a Jew during the Holocaust. Many people hear about all the things that Jewish people went through, but what makes Maus different is that you get to read about someone's perspective and what they went through every step of the way. Both Schindler's List and Maus are two completely different stories and are told totally differently, but they are extremely effective. Being able to watch the movie, it gives you a little perspective on what was really happening to everyone during this time. Reading Maus then allowed you to see the struggle that one person went through, which was similar to the struggle of millions of
others. Oskar Schindler was a Nazi who, at first, only cared about himself and money. As the story progressed he saw the way other Nazis were torturing the Jews and he knew it was not right. He wanted to save as many Jews as possible so he opened a factory and bought as many jews as he could afford so that they would not be sent to Auschwitz, where they would be killed. Schindler's List was very effective to show the true story of what millions of people went through. The movie was produced in the 90s, but was made in black and white. While this may not seem like a big deal, it helped the greatest symbols stick out, such as the red dress and candle flame. We first see one of the great symbols during the beginning of the movie. While Schindler is afar watching many Nazis shoot as Jews and chase the throughout the town, there is a little girl in a red coat walking around innocently, not at all reacting to all the chaos around her. Fast forward to the near end of the movie, the Nazi’s are making the Jews dig up all of the dead bodies and burn them and while Schindler is walking he spots the same girl in the same red coat dead, lying with other corpses. The reason that the girls coat was in color was so that the audience would remember her innocents and let her stand out from the rest. It was a little girl who has done no wrong in her life and she was killed anyway. At the end when the Jews were set free they went from being in black and white to being in color to represent new life.
Spielberg did an amazing job showing the comparison of what Jewish people went through versus the Nazis through juxtaposition. During one of the beginning scenes you see a wealthy family packing their bags and being moved to the ghetto. They walk into the new apartment which is small and dirty and the complete opposite of what they were previously living in. The family, trying to be optimistic says “It could be worse” (Spielberg). The scene switches to Schindler and he is walking into the wealthy family’s old apartment, which is now his. He walks around admiring the size and the amazing features and as he lays down in their bed he says “it couldn’t possibly be better” (Spielberg). Having two scene back to back like that really shows the audience perspective. They got to see what life was like as a Jew and as a Nazi at very similar, yet completely opposite moments.
Maus was written to allow people to see life during the Holocaust and after from one person’s perspective. It is unique because books usually focus on what happened to all the jews during the Holocaust, while Maus only focuses on what happened to Vladek. The different style of writing helps the audience see the Holocaust through someone’s eyes who actually experienced it. Being a graphic novel, the book was more appealing to a bigger audience and helped the reader follow along better. The characters were all represented as animals. The Jews were mice, the Nazi’s were cats, and the Polish people were pigs. Mice were used to symbolize how the Jews were sneaky and would hide from the Nazis. The cats were used to symbolize how the Nazi’s did not care for anyone other than themselves and they would hunt down the Jews. The book starts off during the 70s in Vladek’s apartment in New York. Art goes over to his house and has dinner with Vladek and his second wife, Mala. Art tells Vladek that he wants to hear his story and write a book about it. Vladek goes through all the details that happened to him during the 30s. Vladek told Art every detail from his love life to his struggle to live, but he told him he did not want him to include all of it in his book. “But this what I just told you — about Lucia and so — I don’t want you should write about this in your book … It has nothing to do with Hitler, with the Holocaust” (Spiegelman, 35). Art knew that even though it had no connection to the Holocaust, it would be a good pathos for the audience. Vladek talked about all the different places he was transferred to and all the people that he met. He tells Art about how his other committed suicide because all the trauma that she went through was just too much for her to handle. “Ever since Hitler I don’t like to throw out even a crumb” (Spiegelman, 68). The war made Valdek learn to never waste anything, even though that became a problem for him and Mala because she thought that he was just being annoying. He could not help it, coming from such a rough past he cannot change what he has been through and what he has seen. Even though Vladek had survived the war and is now living a comfortable life, the past still haunts him.“These notebooks, and other really nice things of mother … one time I had a very bad day … and all of these things I destroyed” (Spiegelman, 160). The difference between Maus and other books that discuss the Holocaust is that you get to see the story during and after the war. Just because the war ended does not mean that everyone went back to living normal and happy lives.
Both documents were made to show how tragic the Holocaust was and to show the trauma that millions had to go through. Even though they were both completely different stories and forms of media, they did an excellent job showing what happened without sugar coating it. While Schindler’s List was made to show the real struggle that the Jews went through, not just the Hollywood version, it did not really focus in on their individual lives. Maus was made so that people could read about a specific story. Maus was an amazing book because it made all the Jewish people look like actual people. It told Vladek's story before the war, during, and after. It helped show the audience that the Jews were all normal people with normal lives, who were just taken over. Both of these stories did an amazing job capturing the true experiences and emotions that everyone felt during this time. The different techniques that Spiegelberg and Spiegelman used really sucked in the audience to get an even better understanding. Everyone knows that the Holocaust was a bad time in history, but these two documents really show how horrible it really was.